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How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

well.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#61

Post by yoodenvranx »

westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ...

How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#62

Post by ZenoArrow »

visarga wrote: post #25
glossyscr wrote: post #2

First time I meditated was one month ago. 20 Minutes. It was a pain, doing nothing, just breathing, keeping focus on your breath and body. I was suffering every second, doing nothing, having no thoughts, no mind wandering. It was so hard and awfully boring. Once finished I went back to my Macbook welcoming me with an open Facebook tab from my last session. My first thought: I didn't do that shit for 20 minutes to be…

> I was suffering every second, Do you realize you are probably suffering every minute even when you don't have to sit quietly? It is enough to be away from the rich source of distraction and immediately a kind of anxiety appears, making you seek the next stimulus. Is it ok to live with such a constant need to be fed with this stream of data?

> "Do you realize you are probably suffering every minute even when you don't have to sit quietly?"

Why? Because it's not possible to enjoy it? Because desire is linked to suffering?

Here's the thing. I get why ego can get in the way of enjoying things more fully, and that meditation can help give you a broader perspective on life, but I don't buy into the whole superiority that comes from self-denial. I don't think there's wisdom in shutting yourself away from the world. You can enjoy the chaos, not in some limited way, but fully enjoy it. If you need a simple life to get your kicks then fine, but that's just one model of a fulfilling life, there are others.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#63

Post by suneilp »

_ihqt wrote: post #55

I often hear people say, "hm, I'll go meditate on that..." Or a guy I know who says he meditates on his ideas for his art. But actually, that is the complete opposite of what meditation is supposed to be. When properly meditating, the goal is to not concentrate or think about anything. I just point this out because the basics of what meditation actually is are widely misunderstood by most Westerners -- and even some…

Meditation comes in stages, first you aim to "not think". Then you realize that's not actually possible and have to get past a wall of frustration.

Then you learn to just peacefully keep trying. Thats when you get to start letting go of your pent up mental baggage.

Now that you feel reasonably lighter. You can concentrate more easily and maintain a calm mind while deliberately thinking about specific topics. After you shed that baggage that built up from the last time you meditated.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#64

Post by mkesper »

lomnakkus wrote: post #46
mkesper wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... can also surface things that frankly I'm perfectly happy to leave under the surface. Mind you they _will_ hurt you over time if you just push them away. You probably should get professional help first before trying to meditate.

> Mind you they _will_ hurt you over time if you just push them away. How do you know that? (I'm not being facetious.) I seem to recall there being reasonably solid[1] evidence that thinking about traumatic experiences can actually worsen anxiety and other PTSD symptoms. (Too lazy to look up references, and I don't have access to any paywalled journals anyway, so...) The evidence seems to point to just leaving things…

You're right. Don't trust a random guy from internet to know anything about you.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#65

Post by MIKarlsen »

westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

Great post. I'm sometimes feeling the heat myself. I think I'm maybe expecting too much of myself. I've been attempting meditation before, but I will give it another try after your read.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#67

Post by asdrubale88 »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #61
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ... How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

I would suggest you Sadhguru and the Isha Foundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4hCvdDn7Zc

Meditation is substantially observation without identification, nothing more, nothing less.

If you want to start: 1. Sit down with legs crossed (comfortable) 2. Just sit and see thoughts, listen sounds, sense your body 3. Just be. No doing required.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#68

Post by tzudot »

_ihqt wrote: post #55

I often hear people say, "hm, I'll go meditate on that..." Or a guy I know who says he meditates on his ideas for his art. But actually, that is the complete opposite of what meditation is supposed to be. When properly meditating, the goal is to not concentrate or think about anything. I just point this out because the basics of what meditation actually is are widely misunderstood by most Westerners -- and even some…

> When properly meditating, the goal is to not concentrate or think about anything.

I don't understand how have you got this notion about mediation. What you have mentioned can be useful for relieving oneself of thoughts which are a burden.

On the other hand, mediation is to concentrate on a purpose, directing everything towards the purpose, even the thoughts sprouting from your subconsciousness, all which eventually fade away.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#69

Post by manuelflara »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #61
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ... How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

I suggest you start with HeadSpace, it's an app with zero spirituality or religion, and IMO killer content (if I'm not mistaken, the voice of the videos is that of the founder himself, who used to be a monk). Most of the content you have to pay for, but it provides the first 10 lessons (for the first 10 days, although you can replay them as much as you want) for free, and I think they're a fantastic, easy way to get started.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#70

Post by crispyambulance »

yoodenvranx wrote: post #61
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ... How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

There is a really excellent resource here, http://www.dhammatalks.org/mp3_collections_index.html, that introduces what is known as "breath meditation".

Very simple, rewarding stuff. I listen to these from time to time and practice it for a few minutes every day.

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